The credit union employee turnover rate was 10% in 2011, down from 12% in 2010, according to CUNA's 2012-2013 Turnover & Staffing Survey released this week.

The turnover rate among management positions, however, is much lower. Following historical trends, the turnover rate for management held steady at 5% in 2011, identical to the two preceding years.

Additional survey highlights included:

• Credit unions employ an average of 37.75 full-time equivalents. Credit unions with no branches beyond their main office employ an average of 5.43 FTEs, while those with 10 or more branch offices have an average of 341.62 FTEs.

• Credit unions employ an average of 5.71 part-time employees. The average number of part-time employees ranges from 2.32 among credit unions open less than 40 hours a week to 14.57 among those open 55 hours or more.

• The front line appears to be changing. There's increasing pressure to move high-cost/low-value transactions to non-branch channels or to automate them within the branch. In many cases, credit unions are redefining the teller role, the survey found.

The CUNA survey, which offers insights on both turnover and staffing levels, examines expenditures associated with salaries, benefits, training, recruiting, and operating expenses.